When Tampa Bay plays the New York Giants on Sunday, cornerback Jamel Dean could be back in the Buccaneers’ lineup.

Dean has missed the past four games because of a hamstring injury, and that delayed him from taking sole possession of the title of Mr. Buccaneer among Auburn alumni.

Dean and former Auburn and Tampa Bay teammate Carlton Davis have played in 76 regular-season games apiece for the Buccaneers. That’s the most among former Tigers with Tampa Bay.

In the offseason, the Bucs traded Davis to the Detroit Lions, preventing the cornerback from keeping his lead on Dean on the games-played chart in Tampa Bay.

Dean won’t be an oddity as a franchise leader in games for an Auburn alumnus. For five other NFL franchises, the career leader in regular-season games among Auburn alumni is an active player:

• Offensive tackle Braden Smith is the Auburn leader for regular-season games with the Indianapolis Colts. He replaced Jackie Burkett.
• Safety Daniel Thomas is the Auburn leader for regular-season games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He replaced Sen’Derrick Marks.
• Kicker Daniel Carlson is the Auburn leader for regular-season games with the Las Vegas Raiders. He replaced Aundray Bruce.
• Cornerback Jonathan Jones is the Auburn leader for regular-season games with the New England Patriots. He replaced Heath Evans.

Defensive lineman Angelo Blackson is the Auburn career leader for games played for the Chicago Bears, and he is still playing – but not with the Bears. Blackson now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.

The former Auburn players with the most games for each current NFL franchise include:

Arizona Cardinals: Wide receiver Frank Sanders, 123 games. Two other Auburn alumni have played in more than 100 games with the Cardinals – linebacker Karlos Dansby with 122 and center Tom Banks with 116.

Atlanta Falcons: Long snapper Josh Harris, 156.

Baltimore Ravens: Guard Ben Grubbs, 74.

Buffalo Bills: Defensive tackle Spencer Johnson, 76.

Carolina Panthers: Quarterback Cam Newton, 133.

Chicago Bears: Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson, 32.

Cincinnati Bengals: Offensive tackle Willie Anderson, 181. One other Auburn alumnus has played in more than 100 games with the Bengals – running back James Brooks with 118.

Cleveland Browns: Center Frank Gatski, 132.

Dallas Cowboys: Linebacker Dave Edwards, 181. One other Auburn alumnus has played in more than 100 games with the Cowboys – defensive lineman Jay Ratliff with 104.

Denver Broncos: Defensive back John McGeever, 55.

Detroit Lions: End Dave Middleton, 63.

Green Bay Packers: Tight end Ed West, 167.

Houston Texans: Fullback Jay Prosch, 63.

Indianapolis Colts: Offensive tackle Braden Smith, 93.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Safety Daniel Thomas, 65.

Kansas City Chiefs: Fullback Tony Richardson, 163. One other Auburn alumnus has played in more than 100 games with the Chiefs – offensive tackle Dave Hill with 150.

Las Vegas Raiders: Kicker Daniel Carlson, 103.

Los Angeles Chargers: Safety Mike Fuller, 90.

Los Angeles Rams: Linebacker Kevin Greene, 119.

Miami Dolphins: Linebacker Mike Kolen, 84.

Minnesota Vikings: Fullback Harold Morrow, 99.

New England Patriots: Cornerback Jonathan Jones, 126.

New Orleans Saints: Defensive lineman Frank Warren, 189. One other Auburn alumnus has played in more than 100 games with the Saints – defensive lineman Willie Whitehead with 105.

New York Giants: Running back Brandon Jacobs, 107.

New York Jets: Tight end Fred Baxter, 102.

Philadelphia Eagles: Long snapper John Hudson, 67.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive lineman Gerald Williams, 120.

San Francisco 49ers: Offensive tackle Steve Wallace, 166. One other Auburn alumnus has played in more than 100 games with the 49ers – fullback Fred Beasley with 114.

Seattle Seahawks: Offensive lineman Chris Gray, 158.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean, 76.

Tennessee Titans: Kicker Al Del Greco, 151. Two other Auburn alumni have played in more than 100 games with the Titans – kicker Rob Bironas with 144 and defensive lineman Doug Smith with 101.

Washington Commanders: Running back Stephen Davis, 99.

The Eagles could have Auburn co-leaders at the end of the 2024 season. If offensive lineman Jack Driscoll plays in Philadelphia’s remaining regular-season games, he would tie Hudson for the top spot.

Dean sustained a hamstring injury during Tampa Bay’s 51-27 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 13 and left the game after playing only 10 defensive snaps. In the Bucs’ previous five games, Dean played every defensive snap.

Dean went on injured reserve on Oct. 21, and he returned to practice on Monday.

“I actually feel like a player right now,” Dean said. “Ever since I been out, they been treating me like a coach, so it feels good to finally feel like a player again.”

The Buccaneers still need to move Dean from injured reserve to the active roster on Saturday for him to play on Sunday.

“I’m ready now because I spent most of the bye week – well, the whole bye week — just getting back in football shape,” Dean said on Monday. “… It was a whole circuit of different things. You know, shout out to our trainers for running me to failure. It was much needed.”

Tampa Bay returns from its bye week with a 4-6 record after losing all four games that Dean missed. The Buccaneers and Giants square off at noon CST Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In the 2020 season, Tampa Bay entered its bye week off back-to-back loses and returned to win eight consecutive games, including Super Bowl LV.

“I look forward to the opportunity,” Dean said, “because I was thinking back to Super Bowl year. After that bye week, we had the same conversation. And then after, we just took it one game at a time.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.